ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday strongly denied the presence of al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Pakistan, a rebuttal to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's remarks that the Egyptian cleric is in the country.

"We have no information about presence of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Pakistan. If anybody has any information in this regard... it should be shared with Pakistan," Khar told reporters outside parliament after the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).

The officials of the Foreign Affairs and Defence ministries briefed the committee about the ongoing contacts with the US for reviving the ties. PCNS Chairman Senator Raza Rabbani presided over the meeting. Khar, who also attended the meeting, declared US drone attacks counterproductive in the war on terror and said that such attacks were a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

"United States has been informed of Pakistan's concerns on the drone strikes," she told reporters. On renewed terms of engagement with the US, the foreign minister said that talks were underway with the US in the light of parliamentary recommendations, adding that it was premature to declare them a failure. She also termed al Qaeda a common enemy of both Pakistan and the US.

Raza Rabbani urged the US to respect the parliamentary recommendations, adding that US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta's remarks on drone attacks would further aggravate the situation.

End.

Reader Comments:

aimanul zawahiri

US is trying to bully and blackmail Pakistan on the basis of guess work. How can they share the information with Pakistan dible they do not have any credible intelligence available to them. These are usual pressure tactics.

butt jee, - 08 May, 2012

Just ask the ISI

There is no one on Planet Earth that believes Pakistan's denials.Only Paks, with their unlimited gifts of self deception, can buy this fantasy.
The Pak decision to protect OBL, Mullah Omar and the rest will turn out to be the biggest mistake Pakistan has ever made.

What do you think about the story ? Leave your comments!

Heading (Optional)

Your Comments: *

Your Name:*

E-mail (Optional):

City (Optional):

Country (Optional):

Field marked(*) are mandatory.
Note. The PakTribune will publish as many comments as possible but cannot guarantee publication of all. PakTribune keeps its rights reserved to edit the comments for reasons of clarity, brevity and morality.
The external links like http:// https:// etc... are not allowed for the time being to be posted inside comments to discourage spammers.